Bombs Away
by c-bellz
Summary: Noah Paige had lived in Beacon Hills most of her life along with her parents and her fraternal twin sister. Sure, some crazy shit happened, but Noah was extraordinarily unextraordinary, a wallflower in every sense of the word. But after a lifetime of living in the shadows, maybe it's about time Noah steps out into the spotlight. She just needs a little push. Bombs away.


_I am  
>Just another number<br>Stack me up, I'll crumble  
>And drift along<em>

Beep. Beep. Noah. Beep. Beep. Nooooah. Beep. Beep. Noah! Beep. Beep.

I groggily reached my hand over, searching for the snooze button on the side of my alarm.

"Nwah-"

My hand made contact with something wet and slimy and my eyes shot open as I immediately jumped up. Two things were wrong with the situation splayed out in front of me. The first was that I was sitting at my desk as opposed to laying in my bed, the damp spot on the notebook I had been using as a pillow reminding me to wipe at my mouth and mop up the excess drool. And the second was that my hand was not in fact resting on the snooze button on my alarm, but instead found itself halfway in my sister's mouth. She made a face at me, biting down on my fingers before I quickly retracted them.

"Ew oh my god, gross Dylan!" I wiped my hand down her shirt as she laughed, pushing me up and out of the chair.

"You're the one who shoved your hand down my throat, not me." She scooped up the notebook, flipping through the pages as she shook her head. "Did you stay up all night _doodling_?" I yawned as I made my way over to my bed, collapsing down onto it and curling up into a ball.

"I don't know, I don't remember." I mumbled against my comforter, letting my eyes drift closed one more time. Five more minutes wouldn't kill anyone.

"Yes you do, you remember _everything_." I heard her flip the pages a few more times before setting the notebook back down on my desk. "Oh no you don't! Noah, come on! It's time to _get up_!" She threw herself on top of me, messing up my hair as she pulled at my shoulders. I made a noise of protest before, turning over and promptly throwing my fraternal twin sister off of me, and consequently, off the side of the bed.

I heard the rush of air leave her mouth as she hit the ground with a dull thud, and I peeked at her through one open eye. I saw her body tense as she prepared to lunge again, and rolled back over to the other side of the bed as she leapt. She landed next to me with a frustrated yelp before reaching her arm out to shove me to the ground.

I clung to my comforter like it was dry land, and I was a cat about to be thrown into a vat of water. The entire thing slid off the bed, taking Dylan with me, and when we finally hit the ground she gave my arm a hard slap to let me know she was done playing around.

"You know, you could always join the martial arts club at school." Dylan offered, yanking me up by my arm and sitting me down on my blanket-less bed.

"_Dylan_," I warned, rubbing tiredly at my eyes. It was way too early for this conversation.

"What? There are some really cool people in the club, and your reflexes are so fast already. You were like made to learn that kind of shit!"

"You have .3 seconds to end this conversation, or my pillow is the next thing I will be shoving down your throat."

"You could make a lot of friends Noah!" I rolled my eyes, letting my pillow fly through the air as it made contact with Dylan's brown curls.

Now I know we might seem like a particularly violent family, but we're really not. In fact, Dylan and I get along better than most siblings. She was my best friend. And apparently, that was the issue. We had had this argument so many times that I could actually recite it in my sleep.

"I just want you to have other friends Noah," she'd say, as if I cared. So what if I had minimal friends? Aside from my sister I had a grand total of two other friends, and to be honest Mason was more of an acquaintance. But I didn't mind it. Not really. Less friends meant less drama anyway.

I mean, just between you and me, I did kind of mind it. Being alone sucked sometimes, but other times it was peaceful. And I liked to sit back and observe. But when it came down to it, yeah, I envied my sister. Dylan had it all. Lots of friends, lots of talents, and a sparkling personality everyone wanted to get to know. And what did I have? Social anxiety, a knack for finding myself in awkward and embarrassing situations, and a wallflower status so prominent it was a household nickname.

But I'd never admit that, especially not to Dyl. It wasn't her fault she was a star. She just _was_. And I knew she was just worried about me. Any success she had meant wondering if I secretly hated her for it. And no matter how often I assured her that I would love her no matter what, it never helped. That was our dynamic. It was pretty typical as far as siblings went I guess. There was always one who was just better than the other at certain things. Maybe it was usually more balanced out than it was with us, but hey, genetics aren't exactly fair.

"Noah! Are you even listening to me?"

"No," I looked back up at her, shaking my head.

"Kayleen is great and all, but I just think you'd be a lot happier if you had a few more people you could hang out with and stuff." She dug out a black dress from the depths of my wardrobe and held it out to me idly.

"Maybe," I nodded, standing up and taking the hanger from her, promptly shoving it back into the closet. "Guess we'll never know."

"What about Mason's new friend? He's a lacrosse prodigy and he's new so he doesn't know anything about you yet!" She tried cheerfully, wincing as I shot her a look. "I-I didn't mean it like-" I held up my hand to silence her, before putting three of my five fingers down, the remaining two standing tall and accusingly.

"Two things. One, I'm pretty sure building a friendship on the premise of 'he's new so he doesn't know about you yet' is a no-no. And two, I don't even like lacrosse that much."

"No, you just like Scott McCall." She wiggled her eyebrows and I took that as my cue to gently escort her out of my room. "I was just kidding! I was kidding!" she struggled against me, clinging to my doorframe as I shoved her across the hall. "I could talk to Stiles and see if he's interested!"

"Don't!" I froze, my eyes tripling in size. "Don't. Especially after what happened with Allison." Dylan grew somber, drawing her lips in as she nodded.

"Yeah okay, you're right. I won't. Not yet anyway." She winked, tossing her hair over her shoulder and strutting into her bedroom directly across from mine.

"Not _yet_? Dylan!" I ran after her, plopping down on her pristine bed as she began sorting through her own closet. "He'd never like me anyway. I'm a nobody freshman."

"Well that's why I'm trying to make you somebody!" Dylan shot me a dazzling smile and I sighed.

"No, you're trying to make me somebody _I'm not_." Her smile faltered, and she set the red dress she was holding down on the bed.

"Noah, I-"

"I know. You were just trying to help." I nodded, my lips pursed into a thin line as I stared at my feet swinging over the edge of the bed. She was always just trying to help. She took my face in her hands as she bent down, so that our eyes were level.

"Noah you know I love you just the way you are, and I wouldn't trade or change you for the world." I did my best to give her a reassuring smile, but even I knew it was shit. She squeezed my cheeks, nudging my nose with her own. "Hey. I mean it. I just know that you're unhappy sometimes. Just because you're too stubborn to admit it doesn't mean it's not true. My eyes may not be as good as yours, but they still _work_." She brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and helped me up off of the bed.

"You know, I'm the older one. Aren't I supposed to be the one giving you inspirational pep talks?"

"I'm sure your time will come." She smiled pushing me towards the door. "And you're only older by eight minutes."

"Best eight minutes of my life."

"Rude!" She laughed, smacking my shoulder. "Now go get dressed. A new semester means a new start. Maybe you'll catch someone's eye." She winked at me, pointing at her neck to remind me of the small eye necklace which hung around my own.

"It's not so new when you've known everyone there since kindergarten," I mumbled under my breath, my hand instinctually going to the necklace anyway. I shook my head as I walked back into my room, shutting the door quietly before beginning to dig through my closet.

I fished out a black sleeveless top with a moon design on the front and threw it on the bed, along with a red plaid flannel. After shimmying into my overly-distressed jeans, I shrugged on my layers and tied up my ankle boots before attempting to run a brush through my tangled hair.

Dylan and I were twins. Fraternal twins, to be exact. Where Dylan had chocolate brown locks, and movie star eyes to match, I was your typical blonde haired blue eyed nobody. Even though we had similar faces and bodies, somehow it all just worked _better_ on Dylan. Even kids who didn't _know_ her knew her. And they knew me as "Dylan's sister".

I couldn't blame them though. She was my own flesh and blood and even I was still enamored by her. With a groan, I hefted my backpack up onto my shoulder, making my way downstairs into the kitchen. Dylan was already there, dressed in a red skater dress and tights, a cream colored cardigan thrown over her shoulder as she frantically opened drawers.

"Have you seen my necklace?" She asked as soon as I entered the room, without even looking up at me.

"No, but why would it be in the kitchen…?"

"I don't know! But I've looked everywhere else!" She looked up, her eyes wide with panic and her hair just beginning to fall out of the tight knot atop her head.

"Hey, easy. It's okay, we'll find it." I placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly. "Go get us some lunch money, and I'll look for your necklace."

"Mom's looking upstairs." She let out a breath and nodded, walking over to the jar on top of the counter filled with so many singles you'd think there was a stripper in the family.

I ran up the stairs, quickly glancing at the hallway clock to make sure we weren't going to miss the bus, before bursting into Dylan's room. My mother was there in her bathroom, yawning as she pulled back Dylan's comforters, checking beneath her sheets.

"Hey mom, how are you?" I gave her a kiss on the cheek before ducking down to check under the bed.

"Hi sweetie. Tired. My shift at the station ran a bit longer than I anticipated. This town has some of the craziest shit I've ever seen. I just got home a few hours ago."

"You can go back to bed mom, I'll find it." I stood up, taking a minute to survey the room.

"Are you sure?" she gave me a tired smile as I nodded at her, still looking around the room. "My little wallflower, you always manage to find everything on your own anyway, don't you?" She ruffled my hair, giving me a kiss on the top of my head. She left the room silently as I began my process.

It's true, I was the house's human finder. I could find just about anything. It was one of the few talents I possessed, and it was pretty mundane but I liked it. It made me feel useful for once. I relaxed myself, letting my eyes drift shut and erase the chaos in front of me so I could begin anew. When I opened them, it was as if I were looking through different eyes. Everything was sharper, clearer, and more vivid. I saw a vague shadow behind her closet door, and moved to open it, staring down at her hamper.

Even that had everything in order. I rolled my eyes at my sister's pristine _everything_, and began digging. I saw the chain before I had even gotten to the bottom of the hamper, a small glint of gold buried beneath waves of clothes. And there it was, hooked to a pink bra draped over the side of the hamper. A golden chain with a small golden sun at the end of it. I smiled to myself, checking the clock on Dylan's night table.

The smile fell from my face and I raced downstairs just as Dylan began shouting for me.

"I got it, I got it, let's go let's go let's go!" I yelled, pulling her arm after me as I passed her, running out the door to where the bus was waiting across the street. We climbed on just in time, the doors shutting behind me as we found a seat.

Being the last bus stop probably sucked in normal situations. But being the last bus stop when your only friend didn't take the same bus as you? Pure torture. Dylan found a seat easily, as always. I spotted Mason a few rows back, with Garrett and Violet sitting behind him, sucking face. I rolled my eyes and approached his seat cautiously, consciously aware of the fact that we weren't _really_ friends.

"Um…Can I sit here?" His eyes flicked up at me from his phone, and his face broke into a grin.

"Hey Noah! Sure, let me just move my backpack." He knocked it off the seat and onto the floor, and gestured grandly to the empty spot beside him. "Your throne awaits." I laughed, smiling at him in relief as I sat down, kicking my bag under my feet.

"How was your break?"

"It was good! It was good, made some new friends. Right guys?" He turned in his seat to Garrett and Violet who were whispering to each other and giggling, probably about how Mason got stuck sitting with such a loser.

"Huh?" Garrett cocked an eyebrow, gracing us with a cocky smile.

"Liam's cool, right?"

"Oh yeah, Liam's awesome. Sick lacrosse player from what I hear. We'll see tomorrow though. You guys are coming to tryouts, right?"

"I am, definitely." Mason smiled, turning to me with his eyebrows raised. "What about you Noah?"

"Um…"

"Would that witch of a best friend even let you?" Violet laughed, and I narrowed my eyes.

"Kayleen is not a witch." I felt my hands instinctually clench up as Garrett chuckled alongside her.

"Hey, cool it would you Vi?"

"Sorry, I'm sure she's not _actually_ a witch." I let my shoulders relax slightly, as the ridicule came to an end. "She just dresses like one." She eyed me for a minute and gave me an innocent smile. "Do you guys share a wardrobe or something?" She let out another malicious laugh as the bus came to a halt in front of the school.

I nodded slightly, considering her words for a minute before I grabbed my bag and stood up.

"You know, I really liked you better when your mouth was attached to your boyfriend's. I'll see you later Mason." I marched off the bus with my head held high, feeling an odd sense of pride. But as soon as I was inside the halls of Beacon Hills High, my anxiety came flooding back to me.

I reached my locker in a state of nervous panic. My hands shook as I turned the dial, my locker bouncing open with a click. Why had I said that? To Violet of all people? They were probably laughing at how lame of a comeback it was. Why couldn't I have come up with something wittier? Dylan would have. Dylan would've made sure Violet never said anything nasty again.

"Hey there stranger, long time no see." I jumped at the sound of a voice that was not my own, and Kayleen studied me for a minute before reaching out to me. "Whoa, you okay? You're as white as a ghost."

"Yeah, yeah I just…um on the bus I…Violet was saying…I just uh…"

"Noah, it's me. It's okay." I nodded, blinking more than I knew was necessary but unable to stop myself anyways. "Should I get Dylan?"

"No! No, don't. Don't get Dylan. I'm alright. I just need to…" I trailed off, closing my eyes and letting myself take a deep breath. I know a lot of people are scared of the dark, but for me it's actually pretty comforting. People aren't so scary when you can pretend they're not there. "Violet was making fun of you. And then me. And I told her off. But I don't think I did a very good job." I let out another breath and opened my eyes. Kayleen gave me a sad smile before playfully punching my arm.

"I'm sure you did a great job. She's probably quaking in her fake designer boots." I laughed, smiling back at her, thankful that I had at least someone that was willing to put up with me who wasn't already obligated to. The smile dropped from her face as she glanced behind me, turning back to my locker to slam it shut, nearly getting my hand caught in the crossfire.

"Dude, what gives?"

"Scott and Stiles, two o'clock. Be cool." I felt my heart plummet as I spun around, and sure enough there they were. Stiles Stilinski, all pale skin and flailing limbs, and Scott McCall, looking as graceful and perfect as ever. He looked over at us as they passed, and smiled at us in the middle of whatever story Stiles was telling him. And then it was over and they were walking away, towards the upperclassman lockers.

"Did you see that?! He totally smiled at you!"

"He smiles at _everyone_. It's _Scott McCall_." I shook my head, but I couldn't get rid of the dumb grin plastered on my face or the slight burning of my cheeks. She wiggled her eyebrows at me and I rolled my eyes, pushing her down the hallway. "Come on, let's get to class."

I don't want to say that having math first period is one of the worst things that can happen to you in your life, aside from maybe dying. But having math first period is one of the worst things that can happen to you in your life, aside from maybe dying. Especially having math first period with Mrs. Arnold.

Rumor has it that she was a former nazi, and I wouldn't doubt it. Not only does she not allow bathroom breaks, but she gives a pop quiz every time someone forgets to do the homework, and she only calls on you if you don't know the answer. It's been scientifically proven. And on top of all of that, she _still_ didn't know my name.

"Natalie?" The bell rang as I took my seat, fishing out a notebook and a pen from my backpack. "Natalie Paige!" Mrs. Arnold's voice boomed throughout the room and I sighed at the sound of my last name. I looked up to find her beady eyes boring holes into my head from her desk at the front of the classroom. I stood up, taking the walk of shame down the aisle to the front of the classroom.

As I passed the open door, a boy with brown hair and a schedule crumpled up in his hand came barreling through, almost knocking me to the ground. He caught me at the last second, setting me upright and dusting off my shoulder as I stared at him bewildered.

"Sorry," he said sincerely, giving me a nervous look as he moved passed me to take one of the few remaining seats. I shook myself off, making my way over to Mrs. Arnold's desk.

"Did you mean me?" I asked meekly, gesturing to myself.

"Well are you Natalie Paige?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"No," I answered seriously, shaking my head. "I'm _Noah_ Paige. My name is Noah."

"Noah, Noah, right, sorry." She nodded once, before furrowing her brow. "Noah? Were your parents expecting a boy?" she chuckled and I felt my cheeks flood with the burning heat of embarrassment.

"Well my sister's name is Dylan…" I tried, joking lightly with her in hopes of saving myself from the ridicule she was about to deliver. She just stared blankly however and my attempts at a light smile faltered. I cleared my throat, looking down at the papers on her desk before back up at her. "Um yeah, our parents were expecting boys. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I was informed of an incident this morning on the bus."

"I'm sorry?" My heart rate picked up as my palms grew clammy. Someone had told her about the argument with Violet? But it wasn't even really an argument. I couldn't get in trouble for saying something like that, could I? No, no it was just a comment said in self-defense. Maybe she wanted to tell me she talked to Violet about the consequences of bullying.

"I know that there was almost an altercation between you and Violet Logan."

"What? No, no we just-" I croaked out, feeling my mouth run dry.

"Miss Paige, do not interrupt me. I just wanted to inform you that here at Beacon Hills High School, we do not tolerate violence."

"But I didn't-"

"So consider this your warning. The next time something like this happens, I will be forced to take disciplinary action."

"Mrs. Arnold, I _didn't_-"

"You may have a seat Miss Paige." I stood there in shock, my mouth slightly open and my brow still furrowed. She raised her eyebrows as she gestured back to my seat, and I turned around silently and sat back down, letting my head fall onto my notebook.

I saw Dylan give me a worried look from across the classroom, her conversation with her friends temporarily on hold. Next to me, Kayleen kicked my foot to alert my attention to the small note on my desk.

_What happened?_

I glanced up at her, giving a small shake of my head.

_I'll tell you later._

"Mr. Dunbar, I see you've finally decided to join us."

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that. I got a little lost." The boy who had ran into me spoke from his seat beside Mason. I saw Dylan look at me and give a small nod towards the boy. That must have been Mason's new friend she was talking about.

"Well why don't you come up here and introduce yourself to the class?"

"Oh, I don't really think that-" He laughed, shaking his head.

"Now, Mr. Dunbar." Mrs. Arnold gave him a threatening smile and his expression fell.

"Oh-kay." He breathed, tapping his hands on his desk nervously before standing up and walking to the front of the classroom. "Um, hi. I'm Liam. I'm a freshman. Obviously. I uh, just transferred from Devenford Prep for lacrosse. And yeah. Nice to meet you all." He gave an awkward wave and looked at Mrs. Arnold, waiting for the okay to return to his seat.

She huffed, nodding at him and gesturing back towards his seat. The rest of the lecture was nonsense mumbo jumbo that even math experts probably wouldn't have understood. Instead I let my mind wander.

I had all but perfected the art of day dreaming while multitasking. I drifted through the entire day in my own little world where I was the star and everyone loved and adored me. People didn't bully me or my friends, and boys fought to win my affection. And Scott McCall knew I existed. In my dream world I was a part of their little pack. A crucial part. They all loved me and thought I was nice and funny and pretty and

"Hello? Earth to Noah." Dylan waved her hands in front of my face, as I sat underneath a tree staring at the grass in front of me. "Did you hear me?"

"Nope." I popped my 'p', gathering up my books and hopping up.

"Oh so I guess you _don't_ want to have lunch with Scott and his friends?"

"WHAT?" I whipped my head towards her, almost dropping my backpack as I fumbled to get it over my shoulder. Dylan laughed at me, throwing an arm around my shoulders and steering me towards the tables littered around the lawn.

"Yep. I talked to Stiles and asked if we could have lunch with them. So just try not to embarrass us, okay?"

"Shut up," I nudged her side with my elbow, but wrapped my arm around her waist subsequently. As soon as their table was within eyesight, which was much sooner for me than for Dylan, I felt my pulse take off. _Stay calm Noah. Don't embarrass yourself._

And that was the moment when my boot caught on a tree root, sending both me and my sister flying. We landed in a crumpled mess on the ground, and Dylan quickly untangled herself and smoothed out her dress in one swift, graceful motion.

I on the other hand, stayed on the ground, trying to yank my foot free of the root. My laces had come undone and threaded themselves around the branch, and I let out a heavy sigh as I began trying to unknot them.

"Are you okay?" I looked up and there was Scott McCall, already working on untying my laces. I stared at him for a minute until Dylan kneed my shoulder, reminding me that I had a voice.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah we're okay. Right Dyl?"

"Yeah, we're good. How are you Scott?"

"I'm alright, thanks! How are you Dylan?" he successfully freed my foot, offering me a hand and helping me up.

"I am swell, thank you for asking." Dylan curtsied, picking up my bag and handing it to me.

"And how are you? Noah, right? Has your first day back been okay?"

"To be honest I've seen better days…" I pulled my lips in, feeling my heart skip a beat as Scott put his hand on my back to guide us over to the table. He gave me an odd look and for a minute I panicked, wondering if my heart was beating so loud that it was audible.

But then his smile was back and he took his seat next to Stiles.

"Oh yeah, I was gonna ask, what happened with Mrs. Arnold?" Dylan sat down across from Stiles and I sat down next to her.

"Oh, you guys have Mrs. Arnold? Tough break man, I'm sorry." Stiles interrupted, his conversation with the brunette next to him clearly over.

"Who's Mrs. Arnold?" She asked, looking mildly interested in our conversation.

"She's a freshman math teacher. She's a nightmare." Stiles winced, and Malia mimicked him.

"Math is horrible enough."

"Right?" Dylan chimed in, digging her apple out of her backpack. "Oh right. Noah, this is Malia."

"Hi," Malia waved, giving me a small smile.

"Hi, I'm Noah." I waved back.

"And you already know Scott and Stiles."

"Hey Noah, how ya doing?" Stiles nodded towards me and I opened my mouth to speak, but Scott cut me off.

"Apparently not that great. What happened?"

"Oh it's um…it's nothing."

"Come on Noah, what did Mrs. Arnold say?"

"I don't really wanna get into it right now…" I gave Dylan a reproachful look, as she continued to ignore the 'I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it-in-front-of-actual-angel-Scott-McCall' hints I was dropping.

"If you don't want to talk about it we don't have to. We can talk about something else!"

"Like what?" Dylan asked, her mind already switching gears.

Thank you, I mouthed to Scott and he nodded, smiling at me before waving at someone behind me.

"Kira, over here!"

"There you guys are," Kira set down her tray of food and sat down beside me, grinning and holding out her hand. "Hi, I'm Kira."

"I'm Noah," I took her hand with a smile, giving it a shake. The good thing about being a recluse was that I got to observe. Kira Yukimura was still pretty new at school, having transferred here last semester, but you could learn a lot just by sitting back and watching someone. Her style was perfect, and she was always so sweet and welcoming.

"Where's Lydia?" Dylan asked, taking a bite out of her apple.

"Oh, she didn't come to school today."

"Really? That's not like her." Lydia Martin was one of the most popular girls in school, and definitely the smartest. My sister idolized her, and she was nice enough to acknowledge our existence.

"Yeah, she wasn't feeling well." Scott nodded, glancing at Stiles, Malia and Kira before looking down at his hands.

"Are you guys excited for lacrosse tryouts?" Dylan questioned, observing me out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah, definitely. Are you guys gonna come and watch?" Scott nodded enthusiastically, clearly relieved about the subject change.

"I have a voice lesson, so I don't think I'll make it. Noah will go though, won't you?"

"Um yeah, I was thinking about going."

"Oh cool, you can sit with me and Malia!" Kira smiled at me like I had helped put the stars in the sky, and I felt my nerves dissolve away.

"That'd be cool. If you don't mind, that is?"

"Of course not!"

"You can help me with my math homework." Malia added, and I broke out into a grin.

"I can try, but you'll probably be worse off that way."

"I can't get much worse than I already am, trust me."

The rest of the lunch period was filled with easy conversations and a lot of laughter, and despite the pile of nerves still sitting in my stomach, I was okay. Dylan may have been forcing me to make friends, but at least Scott and his friends were nice. I was relatively quiet, speaking only when spoken to, but I saw everything.

Stiles' and Malia's heads bent just slightly towards each other, the way Malia seemed to not just be new to school, but also to life as a teenager, the way Scott and Kira looked at each other, like they knew a secret the rest of the world never would. My heart dropped a little, seeing Scott look at Kira like that. It was a look I had seen so many boys wear, though never for me. But in the end it's not like I actually expected Scott McCall to like a little freshman, especially a meek and quiet one like me.

But Kira was sweet, and if he was going to like anyone, I guess I'm glad it was Kira. Still, I avoided watching them for the rest of lunch, to spare my already bruised feelings. I noticed Dylan, idly staring at a table a few meters away, where Garrett, Violet, Mason and Liam sat. Though Dylan didn't really know Violet that well, I knew she was good friends with Garrett and Mason. I also knew that she had wanted to be more than friends with Garrett until Violet came along.

I'd never tell her I knew that though. She'd never admit to it. But I saw how she looked at him, how she talked to him, practically how she thought about it. Garrett wasn't exactly citizen of the year, but part of me hoped that he'd dump Violet for my sister. Maybe she'd be a good influence on him. She was a good influence on just about everyone else. Plus I'd love to see Violet's face as she saw Garrett and Dylan together.

My eyes drifted to Violet, laughing at something Mason had said. She threw her head back, her black hair falling behind her as she laughed, her arm instinctually wrapping around Garrett's neck. She pulled herself closer to him, whispering something before placing a kiss on his neck. Choke on a dick Violet.

Mason kept talking, reminding me of a more tame Stiles, using his arms as he spoke. He had the entire table in stitches, and I felt a dull ache in my chest. It happened every now and then, the physical manifestation of loneliness at its finest. I kept telling myself I was happy with what I had in life. But there was always that little voice in the back of my head saying _but are you really?_

And the truth was no. I wanted friends. I wanted to be a part of something _bigger_, I wanted to _matter_. But I was too shy and quiet and I didn't have that much to offer to be honest. I know I should've tried more, but the fear of rejection was too much for me. So I settled for what I had, as unhappy as I might've been. As long as I pretended I was happy, maybe one day I'd finally believe it myself. Fake it till you make it, right?

Mason caught Liam in a headlock, ruffling his hair as Liam fought him off. He was smiling at Mason, and then he was smiling at me, his eyes so blue I could practically see my reflection in them, despite how far away he was sitting. His smile faltered, replaced with a look of vague interest and curiosity and that was when it hit me that he was staring at me. He was staring at me stare at him.

I immediately turned away, my eyes dropping to my hands clasped on the table. He was looking at me. He saw me staring. That had _never_ happened before. Not ever. No one ever noticed me; I was a wallflower. I saw without being seen.

I cautiously peeked back over, my hair hanging over my shoulder like a two-way mirror for me to hide behind if necessary. He had gone back to talking to Mason, laughing as Mason told another story very animatedly. Phew.

"You okay?" Stiles asked, cocking his head at me as everyone at the table stared.

"Uh yeah…yeah, I'm good." I brought my fingers to my mouth, chewing on my nail as Stiles and Scott resumed their conversation, and everything went back to normal.

For them anyway. If you ask me, this was the very moment that my life changed forever.

**A/N: So I promised myself I wouldn't start another story until I finished Silhouette, but as you can see that was a promise I failed to keep. With the absence of Isaac this season, I fell in love with yet another character, Mr. Liam Dunbar. So here is a story I had been planning since Liam's first episode. Now that season 4 is complete and I know where I want to go with this story, I couldn't resist starting it. I'm still going to be writing Silhouette and How To Be A Heartbreaker, but I've decided to make my life more difficult and add Bombs Away to the mix. So I hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think! :D**

**P.S. sorry this author's note is weirdly formatted. I can't put in a line break anymore for some reason? So yeah. :x**

**Lots of love!  
>-Briana<strong>


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